SPRINGFIELD -- President Barack Obama's highly-anticipated speech to students received mostly positive reviews at one middle school.

Controversy erupted in the days leading up to the speech but, under the bright spotlight of pundits and parents, the president made certain the speech did not get political. At Pipkin Middle School, more than 250 seventh and eighth graders watched during their lunch hour.

It was up to each individual teacher to decide whether to show the speech.  All 8th graders at Pipkin saw it, as well as half of the seventh graders.  Just three students decided to opt out, according to administrators.

After all the fear and controversy, the president's message boiled down to studying hard and not taking responsibility for the future.

"Where you are right now does not have to determine where you'll end up. No one's written your destiny for you," Obama said.

It's a point that resonated with 8th graders in Julia Armstrong's class.

"I thought it was inspirational for our students. It didn't seem political at all," Armstrong said.

Eighth grader Remington Murray particularly liked how the president pushed perseverance, no matter what odds are stacked against students.

"Because a lot of kids have been through tough times, and it makes it where you can have someone to relate to. Because they've been through it and accomplished things," said Murray.

"The circumstances of your life, what you look like, where you came from, how much money you have, none of that is an excuse for neglecting your homework or having a bad attitude in school," Obama said.

The attitudes about the speech going in weren't as negative among Pipkin parents compared to other schools.  Obama, after all, did win the school's mock election last year.

Principal Tim Zeigler said, because they serve a greater percentage of low-income students from broken homes than many schools, the president's personal story about his own family challenges had an impact.

"At least from one teacher's comments, that was the thing they highlighted. Well, I was very impressed that he has the same background that I have. His dad disappeared on him," explained Zeigler.

For more on Missouri politics, head to the Ky3 Political Notebook.

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